Claire Krummenacher

Wins for indigenous land rights and knowledge: This week, in the first-ever decision of its kind, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights ruled that the Republic of Kenya must pay over 1.3 million USD in reparations to the Indigenous Ogiek people for several decades of illegal evictions from their homeland in the Mau forest. The Court also decreed that the Kenyan government must provide restitution of Ogiek ancestral lands, consult the Ogiek on any future projects in the Mau forest, and work with the community to create land-sharing agreements (with the stipulation that if a compromise is not reached the Ogiek must either be given further compensation or the land itself).

Meanwhile, Australia gave a long overdue acknowledgment of Indigenous wisdom in its annual State of the Environment report, which recognized that despite Indigenous stewardship's overwhelmingly positive impact on the environment, Australia is still not providing First Nations Australians with the sovereignty and resources needed to apply their knowledge. In response, the report recommended further codification of First Nations land stewardship in addition to the Australian government's current action items, which include doubling the number of Indigenous rangers and bolstering funding for Indigenous Protected Areas and water projects.

 Paul Hawken

The world's largest institutional greenhouse gas emitter: Given the past two weeks of extraordinary heat, fire, and suffering, we remain dedicated to directing our research to both cause and cure, challenges and solutions. Neta Crawford has written a critically important book showing how the Pentagon has become the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. Its consumption of energy is gargantuan, much of it is used to protect our dependency and use of fossil fuels. Are we better off protecting the Persian Gulf or what might be called the Climate Gulf, the divide between what we choose to defend with weapons as compared to what needs to be protected and defended, the living world? The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War will be published by MIT Press in October.

 Courtney White

Climate denial and misinformation spread online: With heat waves and fires in the news this summer, it’s amazing to read that Hulu blocked ads from Democratic candidates for using the words “climate change” among others. This comes as a big report from Meta (i.e. Facebook) and Yale U on public perceptions of climate change shows that broad acceptance of climate science is now the norm. The report also examines the impact of climate misinformation generated by social media. Ironically, Facebook itself hasn’t clamped down!

 Emily Jensen

Growing shade in Portland's hottest neighborhood: Like many places around the world, my hometown of Portland, Oregon is in the midst of a major heatwave this week. It's not predicted to be as severe as last year's deadly heat dome, but this is still one of those moments when climate change goes from conceptual to experiential. That experience will look different depending on what part of the city you live in, though. This piece follows teens tending an Indigenous-led community garden on top of a former landfill near East Portland, where temperatures can get up to 20 degrees higher than the rest of the city due in part to the lack of green spaces like this one. The youth are part of a Parks and Rec program that helps cool down the neighborhood by restoring degraded ecosystems while also growing food for the community.

 Kavya Gopal

Chinese court rules bitcoin mining hurts the climate: Early last week a Chinese court ruled that mining cryptocurrency wastes energy resources in a way that is incompatible with China’s path to carbon neutrality. A 2021 study found that about 40% of China’s bitcoin mines are powered with coal, and these mines power nearly four-fifths of the global trade in cryptocurrencies. The decision follows the Chinese government’s actions to curtail cryptocurrency, including declaring all cryptocurrency transactions illegal. Although cryptocurrency-related emissions have fallen in China, bitcoin miners have responded by moving out of the country to locations reliant on fossil fuels as the primary energy source, driving up global cryptocurrency-mining emissions.

 Robert Denney

Reforestation company responsible for wildfires in Spain: Amid the intense heatwave that hit Western Europe this past week was a wildfire in Spain that was unfortunately started by a reforestation company. Land Life, which uses blockchain technology to help plant trees on degraded land, accidentally caused a now-contained 35,000-acre fire from a spark released from an excavator. The company, which also started a much smaller fire in the area in late June, is now investigating the issue with local authorities. Land Life had the appropriate authorizations to use the excavator but admits that it should not have operated the equipment in the middle of a hot day during peak wildfire season.

 Amy Boyer

Finding joy through collective action: Collective action is "better than therapy," says the author of an article giving tips on finding a group that is a good activist fit. It doesn't have to be street protest: she says when working with others, "cooking breakfast and keeping the coffee coming become radical acts of climate protest—as well as sources of joy." A study showed that collective action reduced depression in college students concerned about climate change. In a different approach to collective work and joy, Happy Climate has online workshops for groups that focus on bringing people together to create individual action plans that can increase their happiness and health.

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